Page 57 of The Arrangement

That was good enough for her.

• • •

“Mr.—”

“Anton,” he corrected automatically as the intercom turned on. Viviana’s legs on his lap was keeping his attention semi-diverted from his work. “Just Anton.”

His earlier moment when he’d snapped at his favorite employee had clearly given her a frightening shock if she was reverting back to using his last name.

“Right … um, Richard is here,” Jen said quietly over the intercom.

Viviana’s finger poked his ribs. “Richard?”

“Great. Send him up.”

The office had been cleaned—all of the clothing, shoes, and accessories removed from the space in little to no time at all. At his order, one of Viviana’s bulls had taken what she wouldn’t be using for the night back to the safe house. And damn, he could barely keep his eyes off her sexy curves as she moved around his office with a comfortable ease in those heels and dress. Jen needed another raise for getting her to wear it; that was all he had to say about it.

That and he probably owed her an apology for acting like an ass earlier. The apology wouldn’t come, because Jen knew better than anyone to turn her cheek at his moods and odd visitors, but the bonus on her pay check always said more than he could, anyway.

Anton wasn’t expecting any other visitors besides his personal jeweler, so he spent most of the afternoon hidden in his office with Viviana by his side. Spreadsheets were a hell he tried to avoid at all costs. Having businesses that were on the legal side of things meant he had to do crap like this more often than he wanted to.

The loud knock on his office door had Viviana’s questioning gaze turning on him again. “Who’s Richard?”

The confusion in her voice was almost cute, considering he hadn’t given her any indication she would be a part of his dealings for the day. In all honestly, Anton just wanted to surprise her again, because the thunderstruck look it created on her face was quickly turning into something he lived for.

“A very good friend of mine,” Anton told her quietly, bringing up her left hand to kiss the suspiciously bare ring finger. “Come on in, Richard.”

The man who entered his office was sporting a smile, eyebrows lifting with a suggestive lift as Viviana attempted to move her legs from Anton’s lap without her dress rising up. In his late sixties, Richard was a gentleman through and through, averting his eyes until she cleared her throat. He’d been around the Bratva organization long enough to know he could expect just about any kind of scene when he opened a closed door.

With the two silver security briefcases placed safely to the floor, Richard crossed the room and leaned down to place a kiss on Anton’s cheek as the younger man patted the back of his neck in response. It was a common sign of respect, one he knew Viviana would have seen before with her father, but not one she had gotten to witness properly played out with him.

Richard cocked a brow, meeting Anton’s gaze as the paperwork was tossed aside. “Are you slacking again, boy?” The thickness in his accent hung off every syllable. More often than not, he’d use Russian to speak to Anton, but because of Viviana’s presence, he chose to use a language she would understand, too. “Nicoli would be in a terrible fit seeing his little prince slumming it in the office with his fiancée instead of doing actual work.”

“I am working …”

“Sure.”

“On more important things,” Anton finished with a smirk.

“Ah, well, at least your priorities are getting straightened out. I can assume that’s because of this pretty little thing, here? It’s Viviana, yes?”

“That’s me.”

Richard’s steel-grey eyes turned on the woman who had crossed her legs and kept quiet while the Bratva boss was greeted. For a single moment, Anton knew what the older man was doing. Searching those eyes and features like he had done so many times before, looking for the clue that gave away who she really was behind the Italian name and mob boss father. Being the friend that Richard had been to Nicoli for all those years, he knew his step-grandfather wouldn’t have held back that secret from him.

The quiet exhale of Richard’s breath as he straightened was enough for Anton. The lump in his throat disappeared. “Very pleased to meet you, sweetheart. You’ve had this lazy prince here making me run for three weeks.”

Viviana glanced at Anton out of the corner of her eye as he brushed her wavy hair off her shoulder. “Three weeks?”

“This …” he said, waving at Richard with a smug grin, “is my jeweler, Viviana. And I do believe he has only the best for you, right, Richard?”

“Absolutely.”

The slight drop in her jaw had him chuckling. “You didn’t.”

“I did, baby. I thought I was clear when I said I had things planned for you today.”

“It’s your birthday,” she said pointedly.